Fatah, Hamas jointly mourn Gaza dead

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A Fatah delegation on Tuesday joined premier of the Hamas-run government in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh in a ceremony to honor families bereaved in the latest Israeli military offensive.

A Fatah delegation encompassed visiting West Bank-based members of the movement’s revolutionary council in addition to Fatah media commissioner in the Gaza Strip Yahya Rabah. A delegation representing the Islamic Jihad movement attended the ceremony, too.

In his speech, Haniyeh described the retirement of Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak, announced Monday, as a thunderous victory for the Palestinian people and highlighted that Barak “spent more than 40 years of his life killing Palestinians.”

He added: “The Palestinian people are headed to a new phase in their conflict with occupation, which started after the 8-day battle.”

Haniyeh said the “occupation never imagined that the crime of killing the leader al-Jaabari would wide open the door for the Palestinian people. He asserted that Egypt’s role had changed compared to 2008 when the decision to wage war on Gaza was approved in Cairo.

“Meanwhile, in this battle, victory was announced in Cairo.”

For his part, secretary of Fatah revolutionary council Amin Maqboul pointed out that Palestinian unity in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and in Diaspora is inseparable.

A people who fights can never be defeated before they make victory and establish an independent state, he added applauding the Palestinian resistance in Gaza for achieving a new victory for the Palestinian people to be proud of everywhere.

Similarly, senior Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad al-Hindi called upon all Palestinian nationalistic and Islamist factions to maintain unity which he described as a major element of victory.

“We can’t abandon resistance, neither can we abandon Palestine and Jerusalem. The enemy is readying and we should learn lessons and understand the nature of this enemy,” added al-Hindi.